Natural Sunscreen (and sun myths)

Did you know that there are studies out there proving that conventional sunscreens actually cause skin cancer? There are many chemicals in our body products that cause cancer. Scary. There are many things that one can do to protect from sunburn.

Something that people often forget is that the sun itself is not harmful. The companies that sell sunscreen and treat skin cancer sure don’t want you to know that. Don’t take my word for it, research it yourself! Now the sun can heal many ailments from impotence to kidney failure by exposing areas to the sun (not in public, folks) and can help eyesight and improve levels of Vitamin D which can help prevent and treat myriads of ailments.

Here is how not to fry your skin. Coconut oil is about a 12 SPF. Slather on and crave stir fry all day, but it sure does feel good on the skin. Olive oil is a 10 SPF. Use with beeswax which is an additional 2 SPF in a nice salve or lotion. Eating mostly fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds provides your body with all the enzymes, phytochemicals, and antioxidants it needs to keep cancer cells from coming through the skin and helps prevent burns. They also fight and prevent cancer internally as well. If you really need a good sunscreen because you will be out fishing, at the beach, or in the garden all day, add a little non-toxic zinc oxide (available in powder form on the internet) to non-toxic lotion (only ingredients you recognize!) and slather on.

I make a great lotion that is just olive oil, lavender, and beeswax with lavender infused into. You could blend together a 1/4 cup of olive oil with an 1/8 cup of aloe vera and a 10 drops of lavender essential oil and apply to skin.

Do you sell your stuff online? If not, you should! I would certainly buy the sunscreen you talked about that you have in your shop. Perhaps that could be a great new way to add the income you need to stay in your house. I’d be a customer!! Even just an Etsy shop if you don’t want your own website 🙂

Just another idea – I volunteer for the High Plains Food Co-op running people’s orders up to the mountain customers (I’m in Colorado too), and they are always looking for new producers. If you signed up with them, co-op customers all over Colorado and Nebraska can purchase your items and you would only have to make one lump delivery to the co-op and they would distribute everyone’s orders for you – if you’re interested please email me! Your stuff would be a great addition, they have lines of goats milk soaps and lotion, but no herbal remedies, and it would sell like hotcakes!

Awesome!! I will be a website customer for sure. If you want to consider the co-op, check it out here: http://highplainsfood.org/ . Email them if you have any questions, Jo that runs the website is an awesome lady and will help you out! You can sign up on the site to be a producer under the “Join” tab. I believe there are other producers in your area too, so one of them would probably even be willing to pick up your products on their way to the distribution site in Denver. Deliveries are the third Thursday of the month.

Farmgirl school is my long time blog about all things homesteading and simple living. From canning, to celebrating the old agricultural holidays, to making wine, to chasing chickens, we live in the moment and savor the good life on our urban farm. My husband and I live in a 93 year old adobe farmhouse in Pueblo, Colorado with several cats, chickens, and a farm dog puppy. My daughter and I own White Wolf Medicine, a traditional herbal pharmacy. All of my books can be found on Amazon at http://Amazon.com/author/katiesanders